SoftBank Group reported a significant improvement in its financial performance for the fiscal year through March, with losses reduced to about a quarter of the previous year’s amount. The Japanese technology company saw a 2.8% increase in annual sales, reaching 6.76 trillion yen ($43 billion). The losses for the fiscal year dropped to 227.6 billion yen ($1.5 billion) from 970 billion yen in the previous year. This improvement was attributed to a decrease in investment losses, particularly in companies like Alibaba and T-Mobile.
Despite the positive results, SoftBank Group’s earnings did not fully reflect the surge in value of its subsidiary, Arm, a British semiconductor and software design company. Arm, which listed on the Nasdaq last year, experienced strong growth in recent months. However, the earnings did show that the company’s investment in WeWork, which filed for bankruptcy last year, suffered losses. These losses were offset by gains from other investments, such as ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok.
Led by billionaire Masayoshi Son, SoftBank also invests in companies like Yahoo Japan and Line. Son is expected to present his vision for the future of AI at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting, as the company focuses on the “AI age.” Despite Son’s absence at the earnings presentation, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto assured that the company was moving towards a stable financial position. The SoftBank Vision Fund 1 has seen gains of $16.7 billion since its inception, while the SVF2 has suffered losses of $19.3 billion.
SoftBank’s focus on investments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous driving has led to improvements in its financial performance, with two consecutive profitable quarters after four quarters of losses. The company’s investments in various technology companies, such as Alibaba and ByteDance, have contributed to its overall growth. As SoftBank looks towards the future, it aims to capitalize on the potential of AI and other emerging technologies to drive further success in the market. The company remains optimistic about the performance of its Vision Fund investments and expects significant improvements in the coming years.
